Brainy Thriller: a review of Thomas Harris' "The Silence of the Lambs"

The Silence of the Lambs: 25th Anniversary Edition by Thomas Harris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My first encounter with Hannibal Lecter was - like most people, I assume - via the award-winning film version of "The Silence of the Lambs" in 1991. Since then, all of Thomas Harris' books have been turned into films (some, like "Red Dragon", more than once) and even a very poor TV series came into being (thankfully now cancelled.)

If you know the film version, it's hard to get away from those characterisations while listening to the audio version of "The Silence of the Lambs". Anthony Hopkins really made Lecter his own. Nevertheless, it's a very satisfying listen, and a good comparison exercise with what made it into the script and what was left out.

When reading a crime thriller I can't help but pay attention to how the writer creates suspense. The benefit of a story like "The Silence of the Lambs" is that you know the story by heart (well, I do) so you can let yourself study what Harris is doing with the narrative, point of view and structure. He really is a master of the crime thriller: the police procedural is very detailed and well researched, without any info dump; the characters are immediately engaging and, as we now know, iconic; and there's no padding in over 10 hours of storytelling.

I've been thinking lately about suspense and how it's built based on a narrative's point of view. Harris does something interesting in this novel: he allows the reader access to the minds of all characters, including the serial killer Buffalo Bill, but not of Hannibal Lecter -- that is, until a certain point in the story when Lecter's circumstances change. This, I presume, was done to create this strange effect at the start of the story where Lecter behind bars is actually more terrifying than Buffalo Bill on the prowl. This tension is brought to bear on the FBI rookie Clarice Starling, who is just starting out on her career and serves as one of the key suspense elements (as readers, we want her to catch Buffalo Bill but also, perversely enough, seduce Lecter to be on her side.) Her twisted relationship with Lecter is part of the book's drive: he's her mentor but also a threat (is she his ultimate meal?) The novel's title refers to a traumatising event in Starling's childhood which the story (more than the film) equates with her drive to become a police officer and stop people like Buffalo Bill.

Frank Muller does a great job narrating the story. I look forward to checking out the other books in Lecter's series.

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